Maybe Possibly Like You
by Lonessa 8D
Summary: All Ruby wanted was to get to her next class, but apparently the world was against her and decided to trap her in an elevator. That wouldn't have been so bad...if her new neighbor Mercury Black wasn't trapped in the elevator with her. Real World AU!


_Real World AU time! Let it be known that Ruby is older than fifteen in this fic..._

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Ruby hoisted her black shoulder bag with little red roses scattered oh the fabric up into her shoulder. She scanned the small apartment she shared with her two close friends and sister as she listed off everything she needed for Professor Peach's class. Satisfied, she swiped her keys off the kitchen counter and walked into the living room to bid goodbye to its current inhabitants.

"I'm off you two," Ruby stated cheerfully to the couple snuggling on the couch, "Don't do anything too crazy while I'm gone!"

"Where's Blake? Doesn't she have the same class with you?" Yang asked drowsily, lifting her head away from Neptune's chest.

"She had a coffee date with Sun so she's just going to meet me at the class," Ruby shrugged, seeing the blue haired man that was currently being used as Yang's pillow blink in surprise.

"He finally asked her out?" Neptune questioned in surprise, "And he didn't tell me?!"

"More like she asked him," Ruby grinned.

"Well he should have let his _best friend_ know anyway," Neptune said grumpily, though he smiled a little as Yang planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Don't be like that, Nep. I'm sure he'll tell you all about it after you meet up with him this afternoon," Yang assured her boyfriend with a smile.

Ruby giggled a bit at the couple's antics before she cast a suspicious glance at the bright yellow blanket that covered them. They aren't… are they?

"You two better be fully clothed," Ruby said sternly, hands balling on her hips.

Yang looked startled before laughing, "Relax Rubes, we are."

Neptune nodded along before adding slyly with a wink toward the boisterous blonde, "Well, we could be—"

Ruby pelted Neptune with a pillow she grabbed from the recliner beside her while Yang thumped his chest hard, the sisters screaming in unison, " _You pervert!_ "

"Woah, relax ladies!" Neptune threw his hands up in surrender, "I'm just playing."

The silver eyed girl sighed and rolled her eyes before turning on her booted heel, "Leaving now."

"Bye Rubes, have fun!" Neptune called.

"Be sure to say hi to the hottie next door!" Yang added with a wink.

Ruby blushed and ran out the door, slamming it closed and taking a breath. Ever since the new tenant next door moved in, Yang poked fun at Ruby since she was caught staring at the man. But so what, she thought he was kind of maybe good looking?! And she may have a small, tiny crush on the guy, it really wasn't a big deal. Of course, her roomies just had to make a big deal out of it – specifically Yang and Weiss – and Ruby had to hear about it constantly, not to mention Weiss constantly forced her to dress up in hopes that he would take notice.

Thankfully though, Weiss was out visiting her sister, so Ruby didn't have to worry about passing Weiss' critical examination of her clothing. She wore a simple black skirt with red netting draped overtop it, along with a black and red corset with no sleeves. Running into her red and black buckled boots were black tights, and the left leg had a rose embroidered on the inner thigh.

Ruby ran her fingers through her hair, forcing away her thoughts concerning her neighbor. She noted idly that the red and black locks were now falling past her shoulders by an inch or two, and began to debate whether or not she should get it cut back to shoulder length again. As she pondered this, she stepped inside the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor.

As the doors began to slide closed, Ruby pulled out her scroll and shot a quick text to Blake saying she would be on campus in about twenty minutes. Beacon University itself wasn't really that far, but traffic always was quite terrible in the midday.

As she waited for a reply someone managed to dart in right before the doors closed, but she didn't pay them any mind. Blake sent a reply quickly, saying that she was spending the day with Sun, Scarlet and Sage since Peach was sick and class was canceled for the day since they couldn't find anyone to fill in, and Ruby sighed quietly. She debated for a moment about going back to the apartment, but she decided against it. Yang and Neptune hardly ever got any time to see each other since their class schedules and work hours were completely opposite, and she didn't want to rob them of their free time together.

Perhaps she could go to the bakery just down the street. Ren was probably off his shift and was hanging out with Nora, Pyrrha and Jaune there, so she could jump in and spend some time with them. Then again, the incoming storm she saw on the weather channel today looked rather daunting…

Ruby tucked her scroll back into the front pocket of her bag as the elevator began to make some odd stutters in its descent. It's like it was having trouble lowering itself, and in the jostling movements the elevator was making, Ruby had to place a hand on the metal rail along the edge of the elevator to steady herself. Eventually, the elevator slowed to a stop altogether, a depressing whine emitting from it before the doors opened to reveal the grey wall of the elevator shaft.

"Well… that's not supposed to happen," Ruby bit her lip, looking at the panel on the elevator. She supposed they had to call for help…?

The person who was in the elevator with her sighed, "It's a good thing I didn't have anything planned…"

Ruby's eyes shot to him. _Oh god. Oh no_.

The man in the elevator with her – _stuck_ in the elevator with her – had this messy yet not messy silver hair that fell in front of his face and impossibly dark eyes to the point that they nearly looked black. He wore a simple grey tank and black pants that tucked into black boots. His hands were covered with fingerless gloves that had a strip of light grey in the center of the back of his hands, and his arms were bare. She desperately tried to ignore the toned arms, _ignore them, ignore!_

 _That… that's her neighbor. Oh dear lord why._

He was on the emergency line built into the panel now, his head tilted down towards the speaker and his arm braced over top of the panel, and he was facing away from her. Good thing too, since he couldn't see her minor - okay maybe major - freak out. Of all the people in the world she had to be stuck in an elevator with him?! And who knows when this thing will get up and running again!

The silver haired man let out an aggravated sigh before stepping away from the panel and leaning on the side of the elevator. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She had seen him around campus too, and she knew that he was a year ahead at least, and since she was in her sophomore year of college, that either meant junior or senior… oh dear. The two year age difference she had with her peers definitely wasn't helping with her anxiety right now.

She tried to remember what the guy on the other end of the call said, since while the source of her problems was talking with him she tuned out in her panic. She thought she heard him mention a couple hours time...a couple of hours stuck...in an elevator...with her neighbor. Oh boy.

He still wasn't looking at her. She started texting whoever she could rapidly.

 _Sis: {Oh god the elevator is stuck and guess who's in here? GUESS.}_

 _Blake: {Blaaake the elevator, it stopped and I'm stuckkk}_

 _P-Money: {PYRRHA I NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO}_

 _Vomit Boy: {YOUR GIRLFRIEND NEEDS TO ANSWER HER TEXTS}_

 _Scarlet: {Fellow redhead I need someone to talk to about my situationnnn}_

 _Sun: {Is Blake with you? Do you two even have your scrolls?!}_

It continued on like that, and she didn't get an answer to any. Why? Because he friend's were jerks, that's why. She's going to tell them that once she gets out of this stupid elevator.

"Someone must be popular."

Ruby fumbled her scroll as her eyes widened. _He was talking to her oh god!_

"Uh...what?"

"You're texting a mile a minute," He nodded to the device in her hands, "And you haven't stopped for the past three minutes. Gotta have a lot of friends to be texting that quick."

"Oh, uh...hehe," Ruby felt her breath falter into an odd wheeze of a laugh, and she coughed to cover it up. _What is wrong with you Ruby answer him!_

"I uh, I actually don't have that many...I'm j-just texting them to tell them I'll be late to class," Ruby lied through her teeth, silver eyes not able to focus on his face for more than a second, "Or uh, now that I think of it I'll probably miss class altogether…"

 _WHAT class Ruby?! Peach's class was canceled and the first thing you've ever said to your neighbor was a blatant lie! Nice job Rubes, great start!_

"That's probably a good assumption," He replied smoothly, a slight smirk on his face as he peered at her from underneath silver tendrils of hair. How she wasn't hyperventilating she didn't know, but she thanked the gods that she was keeping at very least a shaky semblance of calm.

"Mhm…"

Ruby didn't know what else to say, so she just rocked on the heels of her boots and gripped her scroll tight in her hand. She didn't even know this guy's _name_ , for goodness sake, and she's a spineless mess around him! She wish she had more social skills…

 _Well there was one way to find out_ …

"Uh, I-I'm Ru-Ruby. Y'know, like uh, like the red gem," Ruby stuttered out, "Ruby Rose. Like uh, like the red flower."

 _Great explanation Ruby. Like he doesn't know there is a flower called a rose. Ten out of ten._

"...Uh-huh," The man said slowly, an amused smile on his face, "I'm Mercury Black. The element and the color."

"...cool name."

If Yang was here, Ruby would have gotten a slap upside the head.

"Thanks."

...alright, that was a productive conversation. She knew his name now...and nothing else. And she's also made a fool out of herself. _Awesome_. Maybe she should say something else to make it seem like she wasn't a socially awkward person despite her actually being the awkwardest person ever. Is awkwardest even a word?

Oh great, now she was rambling to herself.

"We're...um...we're neighbors," Ruby said, feeling the temperature rocket up to face melting degrees as he turned his eyes to her again, "I've uh, I've seen you around but never...got around to talking to you."

He arched a brow, "Stalking me, are we Little Red?"

"Wha- Oh, _NO_!" Ruby shook her head violently, "I-I didn't mean it like that I just meant I see you around campus sometimes and y'know we're neighbors so it's inevitable I see you around here and I really didn't mean—"  
"Chill, Little Red," Mercury chuckled, effectively halting anything she was about to say because _oh lord_ he _chuckled_ and she wanted to hear it again, "I was just kidding."

"O-Oh…" Ruby coughed, "R-Right."

She should just stop talking. That would probably be better for the both of them. It didn't help at all that she knew for a fact that her face was a bright red and he probably noticed it once he looked her square in the eyes and _OH THANK GOODNESS SHE GOT A TEXT_!

 _Sis: {Hey Little Red. It's Nep. Go for it girly ;)}_

Nevermind. It was no help whatsoever.

 _Ruby: {NEPTUNE TEXT ME ON YOUR OWN SCROLL}_

 _Sis: {Alright fine hold on}_

There was no other text until a couple seconds later, with Neptune's contact popping up on her screen.

 _Adoptive Brother: {What's the problem Ruby}_

 _Ruby: {WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE PROBLEM}  
Adoptive Brother: {...okay. Do you at least know the guy's name?}_

 _Ruby: {Um, yes}_

 _Adoptive Brother: {Kay. Then just make small talk. Like...talk about classes or something}  
Ruby: {...}_

 _Adoptive Brother: {Oh, right. You don't have a social bone in your body}_

 _Ruby: {NEPTUNE}_

 _Adoptive Brother: {AM I WRONG OR NO?}_

 _Ruby: {RUDE}_

 _Ruby: {Wait hold on. Why did you answer Yang's phone. Where is she you were just with her?!}_

 _Adoptive Brother: {...well she's a little tired right now}_

 _Ruby: {...I WAS GONE FOR FIVE MINUTES}_

 _Adoptive Brother: {And that's all the time I need}_

 _Ruby: {YOU'RE DISGUSTING}_

"Who're you talking to?" Mercury questioned, causing her to startle again. _Oh right she's still in an extremely awkward situation with one of the hottest guys she's ever seen. Greaaaat_.

"Just my extremely unhelpful brother…" Ruby mumbled in annoyance. The response was just instinctive when talking about Neptune at this point.

"You have a brother?" He asked in surprise, and Ruby turned to look at him, "I always thought you just had a sister."

"Oh, uh, he's not actually my _brother_. I just call him that since him and my sister have been a thing for, like, four years now. He's just around all the time and acts like a big brother now…" Ruby trailed off, the gears slowly turning in her mind as she realized something, "Hold on...how did you know I had a sister?"

"I listen," Mercury shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets as he studied her.

"So I guess I can call you a stalker too?"

"Hm. Maybe. You'd never spot me though."

And then he winked at her. _Oh god she's dead right now_.

"I-I don't know if I should be scared by that answer or...uh…"

"Excited?"

"N-No!" Ruby spluttered, but whatever she was about to say was interrupted by the lights flickering above their heads.

"Looks like that storm finally made its way over. We might be sitting in the dark soon," Mercury commented in boredom, and Ruby froze.

"In the dark?"

"Yeah…" Mercury looked at her for a long moment, "With how nasty the storm looked it might cause a power outage. Why?" At her silence, his eyes widened a little in surprise before a smirk broke across his face, " Aw, is Little Red afraid of the dark?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Ruby squeaked, and suddenly his arm was around her and what is going on.

"No worries, I'll protect you from all the baddies in the dark," He smirked down at her, a glint in his eyes that was something she couldn't quite pinpoint. She huffed, taking some notes from Weiss' book by rolling her eyes and looking away.

Only for eyes to land on the arm that was hooked around her neck. What were those weirdly shaped... _oh_.

"Mercury…" Ruby looked back up at the silver haired man, placing her hand on one of the winding lines of puckered skin on his arm, "W-What are these from?"

Just like that and his body went rigid, and slowly, he took his arm away and backed up a few steps, a guarded look on his face, "Nothing you need to worry about."

Ruby blinked, her natural tendency to worry for others overriding her awkwardness for the moment as she took a few steps toward the quickly retreating man, "Did something bad happen?...are you okay?"

"'M fine."

"...it might help if you talk about it—"

"Listen Red, we just met, kay? I'm not about to spill my sob story to you just because you asked," Mercury glared heatedly, and Ruby felt her bottom lip stick out in a pout as her eyes widened. Her eyes darted to the floor and she scuffed her heel on the floor, mumbling an apology to the ground.

The next seconds were filled with a thick tension that Ruby knew was absolutely her fault, and she glued her eyes to the elevator door in front of her. She could feel his eyes boring into the side of her skull, and she felt the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could process and filter them.

"I really am sorry, I just, sometimes I get too concerned about something and I forget to check my boundaries, and I really didn't mean to offend you or anything. I just was a little worried, because no one should go through anything bad like that. Not that I know what you went through, I'm just speculating, but really, I'm sor—"

"Got 'em from my old man," Mercury interrupted, gaining her undivided attention. His gaze was steady, calculating, along with a curiosity that wasn't there before, and he continued, "He wasn't the nicest guy, and he made it a point to let me know I wasn't wanted. I got these because I fought back."

Ruby swayed on her feet before her gaze lingered on his arms, and he sighed before holding them out a little in invitation. Hesitantly, she shuffled over, raising a tentative hand and running her fingers along the puckered skin, an immense sadness rushing through her for him.

"I'm sorry…"

"Not your fault. You didn't even know me then," Mercury brushed her apology off, though a slight haunted look was in his eyes, "Besides, I don't have to worry about him anymore."

"...What about your mom?"

"Don't know where she is and don't care either."

Ruby winced at his tone, but she didn't comment. Looking up at him, she noticed Mercury was watching as she traced the scars, and she swallowed before speaking.

"Mercury...I'm really sorry that this happened to you," She said steadily, sincerity laced heavily in her tone. He blinked, looking at her in surprise, but she continued, "That...that shouldn't happen at all. It's cruel."

"It's been done, can't change it," Mercury stated blandly, though his eyes gained a softness that wasn't there before. Ruby considered that a victory.

"So, I shared my story. What about yours, Little Red?" Mercury asked with a tilt of his head, "Stereotypical family with loving parents, two kids and a dog?"

Ruby frowned a bit at his near hostile tone, but she shook it away, "Well, you have the two kids and a dog part right."

He raised a brow, urging her to continue.

"Well...Yang's mom ran out on our dad once she was born...never seen her since. And uh, as for my mom...she uhm, died while on duty."

"Oh…" Mercury looked a little uncomfortable now, looking off to the side and shifting on his feet like he wanted to escape, but Ruby's hand that was still on his arm was keeping him in place, "Sorry I guess."

"It's okay. It happened when I was pretty young so I don't remember it very well," Ruby shrugged, "And all the memories I have of her are good ones."

"That's good."

She smiled a bit, more at ease now that he wasn't just making those little looks and grins towards her. Ruby realized her hand was still on his arm and she hastily pulled away, an embarrassed flush oozing across her face. Mercury smirked a little but didn't comment on it.

The lights flickered again, letting out a whine as the storm wreaked havoc on the power system, and Ruby breathed a short sigh of relief when the lights stayed shining. That relief lasted a total of two seconds before they were plunged into darkness.

Ruby made an odd yipping noise as her surroundings suddenly disappeared from her vision and she froze. Her breathing quickened, and her fear kicked in, eyes darting around in a fruitless attempt to check her surroundings. She felt a hand grasp her bare shoulder and she jumped.

"You okay?" She heard Mercury's voice from somewhere beside her, but she couldn't think of a way to respond. Her silence and panicked breathing was enough of an answer however, and he continued, "Pull out your scroll. Use it as a light."

Ruby grabbed her scroll and tapped the screen so it could come to life, and the home screen brought some light to the small cube they were currently trapped in.

"Better?"

"A-A little."

Mercury stared at her for another long moment, the light from her scroll making him look ghostly pale, and he spoke after a moment, "I recognize you from campus too. You take Peach's class on artistry right?"

"U-Uh… ye-yeah…"

"You have your sketchpad on you? I'd like to take a look."

She knew he was just trying to distract her, but she let it work and said, "Uh, yeah, I-I have it in my bag… uhm…"

As she fumbled with her shoulder bag, Mercury intervened and took the shoulder bag from her and plopped down on the floor, his back against the elevator's side and flipping open the bag's flap.

Ruby hesitantly sat down beside him, using her scroll's flash as a flashlight as Mercury took her worn sketchpad from her bag and flipped it open. The drawings were fairly uninteresting if Ruby was being honest. She drew random doodles and objects she happened to be sitting by at the time, and sometimes she would draw the occasional flower. Blake was immensely better at it, but she said Ruby was improving quickly. The silver eyed girl watched as he flipped to the next batch of sketches.

"What are these?" Mercury asked with a frown as he examined the different symbols, each shaded a different color.

"Oh, that was for Peach's emblem project," Ruby explained, "She wanted us to try and create symbols for people. The snowflake is for my friend Weiss, and the fire shaped as a heart is my sister Yang's."

"I assume that this one is yours?" Mercury pointed to the red rose in the top left corner. Ruby smiled shyly.

"Heh, yeah. It's uh, it's all I could really think of."

"It suits you," Mercury admitted, nudging her shoulder with his. She blushed, stuttering out her thanks as he turned the page yet again, this time observational drawings from her people watching being shown.

Most were of her roomies, Weiss, Blake and Yang, but ever since Neptune and Sun started hanging around their apartment more, she started drawing them too when they weren't looking. Most were of them sleeping, since there were a lot of ' _binge watch movies until we fall asleep_ ' nights on the couch. Ruby's favorite drawing was when Yang ended up sleeping on top of Neptune with Blake's head resting on her back. Blake herself had a sleeping Sun laying across her legs, and somehow one of Blake's hands had tangled itself into Sun's hair. It was the most adorable thing ever, in Ruby's opinion.

"Looks like it was a wild party," Mercury mentioned in amusement, and Ruby giggled before explaining.

"Yeah, my roomies and I ended up watching some action movie for the fifth time and they all fell asleep midway through it. I decided to draw them."

He flipped to the next page, and Ruby watched as he began examining her observational drawings around campus. It was mostly just of empty benches and insects that stayed still long enough for her to get the basic picture of what they looked like ingrained in her mind so she could to put it to paper, but there were some quick sketches of unsuspecting peers that she whipped up when sitting in the middle of campus.

Oh wait. The sketches. _Oh god._

Before Ruby could conjure up an excuse to get her sketchpad back, Mercury turned the page yet again and it revealed—

"Is that me?"

 _Well, I'm suddenly regretting my life decisions_ , Ruby remarked in her head as she flailed for a response. She could tell he was looking at her, she could see it from the corner of her eye, but she kept her silver eyes glued to the composite sketch of Mercury's face as she inwardly panicked.

"U-Uh… ma-maybe?" Ruby stuttered, "I, uhm, just started drawing it one day on campus and uh, _andIthoughtyouweren'tlooking._ "

"Hm… and here I thought you were staring because you thought I was handsome."

… _what did he just say? How is she supposed to respond to that?!_

"I… well—"

"Or do you actually think I'm handsome?" Mercury quirked a brow, a dangerous smirk fixed on his face as he stared at her with the aid of the dim scroll light, "Is that why you were drawing me?"

At that exact moment, her scroll buzzed and showed a preview of the message sent to her. Ruby couldn't decide if it was the worst or best timing.

 _Sis: {Hey, just read your texts with Nep! Just tell Mr. Hottie that you like him, trust me!}_

"…Guess that answers my question."

A prolonged silence filled the elevator, and Ruby dreaded what was about to come next. She half expected an immediate rejection, since she's only proved to be a fumbling mess with a fear of dark and odd people watching tendencies to him thus far. He was just staring though, and she felt her face get hotter and hotter before he chuckled darkly and suddenly she was being lifted up and placed in his lap.

"M-Mercury…?"

"You know I thought you were cute when I spotted you around campus," Mercury mused as he smirked and wound his arms slowly around her, pulling her close to his chest, "And those silver eyes of yours…"

Ruby felt her breath hitch as one of his hands came up to dance along her jaw before pressing flat against her cheek, and she found herself placing her hands on his shoulders as he maneuvered her around so she was facing him while still in his lap.

"You think my eyes are pretty?" Ruby squeaked, inexperience and awkwardness taking over her demeanor as Mercury pulled her close, almost so they were nose to nose.

"Gorgeous," He breathed, staring directly into her eyes, "They're like pure metal."

"I...I…"

"What's wrong, Little Red? Lost for words?" Mercury grinned, and Ruby frowned.

"Why are you acting like this?" Ruby asked, "Are you toying with me?"

Mercury looked a little surprised that Ruby spoke up, and he raised a brow, "And what if I am?"

Ruby narrowed her eyes, pouting, "Well that's just mean."

She suddenly felt a new bout of nervousness as she watched his eyes shoot down to her lips, and he readjusted his grip on her slightly, his hand brushing back her bangs and tucking them behind her ear.

"S-So...you know what I think of you...because of that text... uhh…" Ruby trailed off, not able to look him in the eyes yet again, "Do...Do you—"

She was interrupted by warm, soft lips crashing into her own, and she blinked owlishly as she stared back at Mercury's closed eyelids for a moment. _He-He was kissing her!_ Ruby let her eyes slip closed, clumsily returning the kiss due to her lack of experience. Mercury didn't seem to mind at all, and he pulled her until she was flush against his chest and her legs were on either side of his waist.

He pulled back slightly, gazing into her silver eyes as she breathed raggedly, and Ruby swallowed nervously before smiling shakily, "Is that a—"

"You're adorable when you blush, you know that?" Mercury pressed his forehead against hers, noses sliding against each other as their lips nearly brushed together yet again, only a hair away from contact, "And...I think I might like you too."

Ruby inhaled sharply before smiling widely and winding her arms around his neck, "R-Really?"

He responded by pressing his lips to hers again, and she responded much more eagerly this time, eyes slipping closed as her fingers ran through his silver locks. His hands balled into fists on her back as he crushed her to him, and with a low growl in the back of his throat, he pushed her so she was on her back and he loomed over top of her.

Ruby giggled softly as he smiled, and he nipped at her neck lightly, trailing kisses along her jaw. A soft sigh escaped her mouth, and her brain went blank once under his tender affections.

 _Okay, so this has turned out well so far...making out on the floor of a elevator with the power out and only the screen of my scroll to see. I'm...surprisingly okay with this,_ Ruby thought lazily as Mercury pressed a featherlight kiss to the tip of her nose, moving to dive for her mouth.

And then the scroll shut down, plunging them into darkness once more.

"M-Mercury?!" Ruby stammered suddenly in fright, her fear of the dark shining through once more. Mercury cupped her face with his hands, kissing at her eyelashes in the dark to try and soothe her.

"Shh, it's alright gem, I won't let any bad nightly creature get you," He chuckled in amusement, and Ruby knew he was teasing her, but it seemed to help. That, and that nickname turned her into putty in his hands.

"G-Gem?"

"You're named after one aren't you?" Mercury replied, and she could feel the smirk on his face as his mouth brushed against her cheek.

She turned her head and captured his lips again, and she heard herself whine as his tongue slipped into her mouth, sliding against her own. Her hand fumbled over his shoulders before grasping onto the front of his grey shirt, her other hand tangling in his hair. She felt his hand grasp tightly to her hip and a tight coil formed in her belly, twisting and turning with every ministration he applied to her. She felt him press his body more firmly to hers, and her back protested as it was forced against the floor.

Her actions were fueled by instinct, and she somehow managed to flip him over so she was on top of him, and she could barely see his eyes widen before the smirk returned, and she narrowed her eyes and growled softly before ducking into the crook of his neck, kissing and nipping at the tender skin there. His hands found her hips and he squeezed them gently as she brushed her lips along his jaw, nipping lightly on his earlobe.

She felt more so than heard the low chuckle that vibrated through his chest, and she scowled before sinking her teeth into his neck, biting down harder and sucking the skin into her mouth. She heard his sharp exhale and the hands on her hips tighten their grip exponentially, and after a moment she released the skin and kissed it tenderly a moment after to lessen the sting.

"Didn't think you would be so aggressive, gem," Mercury said with an amused tone, and she felt her shyness try and push back to the surface.

"Ehehe…" Ruby laughed awkwardly, "I uh...I never actually…did this before..."

 _Really Ruby, you're on top of this guy and you're about to be all meek again?_

Her brain had an excellent point, but it was too late, since she already said it.

"Really?" Mercury replied with some surprise, "A pretty girl like you has never gotten attention like this before?" He moved his fingers in circles on her hips for emphasis.

Ruby sat up on his lap, frowning a little as she shrugged, "No...Yang normally chases off most of the guys...but we're kind of stuck in an elevator where Yang can't do that, so…"

Mercury sat up and wound his arms around her yet again, using her position to flip her back onto the bottom, "Excellent point, gem. Now that you mention it...no one can get _into_ this elevator either."

Ruby's eyes widened at Mercury's near evil smirk, barely seen in the pitch blackness around them, and she gasped softly as he tilted her head with his hand and brought his lips to hers yet again, twisting her body to whichever angle he pleased. She was malleable in his hands, and her fingers grasped at whatever she made contact with first, that being his bare, toned arms. Her body seemed electrified in his grasp, and she jumped as she felt his hands slide underneath her corset and glide along the flesh of her torso.

 _Thank goodness for power outages…_

Mercury snickered against her mouth. _Oops, she said that out loud. Whoops_.

"Couldn't agree more, gem," Mercury mumbled, fingers hooking underneath the waistband of her skirt.

She whined and heard his low groan in return, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up at the sound. His mouth was hot against hers as she felt herself instinctively arching up towards his body, and Ruby felt him smirk against her mouth, his hand snaking around her body and firmly squeezing her rear, growling into the kiss.

They were so immersed in each other that they didn't notice how the lights flickered back to life, and the elevator roared to life a moment later. Ruby merely returned Mercury's kisses with a need she didn't even know she possessed, and she felt her toes curl within her boots. She inhaled his strong musk through her nose, and she felt as if she could stay in this elevator for all eternity if she could continue kissing him with this level of emotion.

"Oh, I _totally_ called it."

Ruby's eyes popped open, and Mercury drew away from her mouth slowly before they both turned to the now open elevator door, seeing Neptune smirking down at their mess of limbs, and Ruby squirmed in Mercury's grasp.

" _Neptune_! Wh-What are you doing here?!" Ruby shrieked.

"Well the power came back on...and Yang wanted me to check on you," Neptune glanced at Mercury, who was still on top of her and _wouldn't let go_ , "Sup man. Names Neptune."

"Mercury. I'm her neighbor," Mercury replied just as smoothly, grinning the entire time.

"Yeah, I know. Nice to finally meet you."

" _Really?!_ " Ruby yelled, "Mercury, get off me!"

"What?" Mercury looked down at her with the face of ignorance, but she knew he was only teasing, "You seemed to like it just a couple seconds ago."

"You're a jerk!"

"Well then, I'll leave you to it," Neptune sighed, winking at Ruby, "I'll tell Yang you went out to find Blake. Have fun Little Red."

Ruby spluttered as Neptune walked back down the brightly lit hall, flushing a bright crimson as she turned back to Mercury. He was smirking down at her, and he pressed a soft kiss to her lips before standing, lifting her up along with him.

"W-What are you doing?!" Ruby flailed as she was held bridal style in Mercury's arms, and he smirked before walking forward.

"Thought I'd show you around my apartment...and finish what we started in the elevator," Mercury drew in close to her face at this, and she blushed before downcasting her eyes.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Ruby teased, refusing to look at him.

"Oh, gem," Mercury's eyes glinted as he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, "Then you'll just have to find out."


End file.
